Emperor Jingming spoke in a gentle tone, his gaze carrying a hint of pity, appearing to have his niece’s interests at heart.

Prince Xiang lowered his head, nearly bursting into laughter.

He had guessed right! He knew that any man would sympathize with his situation today.

Thinking this, he glanced surreptitiously at Pan Hai again, adding: Even half a man would.

Pan Hai: “…” This was the second time!

If Prince Xiang kept looking at him like this, he might suspect the prince wanted to pawn off Miss Cui on him. Thankfully, he was only half a man…

Pan Hai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

Princess Rongyang was momentarily stunned by Emperor Jingming’s words. When she finally reacted, she exploded, “Royal Brother, what… what are you saying?”

“We have decided to bestow marriage upon Mingyue and Zhu Ziyu, fulfilling the wishes of a pair of lovers.”

“Royal Brother, Mingyue was deceived by that scoundrel Zhu! She only associated with him because she initially thought he was unmarried…”

Emperor Jingming frowned, “Deception is indeed wrong, which is why We have demoted Zhu Deming and stripped Zhu Ziyu of his title as Imperial Scholar. Does my royal sister feel this punishment is insufficient?”

Princess Rongyang’s lips trembled, not daring to speak.

If she said it wasn’t enough, and His Majesty increased the punishment while still insisting on the marriage, wouldn’t that be disastrous?

“Does my royal sister think this punishment is sufficient?” Emperor Jingming asked again, good-naturedly.

Princess Rongyang’s lips turned pale as she struggled to control her emotions on the verge of collapse, “Royal Brother’s decision is naturally the most appropriate.”

Emperor Jingming nodded slowly, “It’s good that my royal sister thinks so. Since Zhu Ziyu’s deception has been punished, let’s discuss his marriage to Mingyue—”

“There’s nothing to discuss about Mingyue and him!” Princess Rongyang completely lost control, raising her voice to interrupt the Emperor.

Emperor Jingming’s eyes darkened as he gazed at Princess Rongyang’s flushed face.

His tone remained gentle, “Just now, my royal sister said Mingyue associated with Zhu Ziyu because she thought he was unmarried. This is enough to prove there were feelings between them. Since there are feelings, and things have come to this, wouldn’t bringing them together be the best of both worlds?”

Princess Rongyang nearly choked on her breath.

What nonsense about the best of both worlds! She knew people who had been in power too long had their minds addled!

“Royal Brother, Mingyue, and Prince Xiang were just short of completing their wedding ceremony. In truth, she’s already considered a daughter-in-law of the royal family. How can she remarry someone else?”

Emperor Jingming’s expression turned serious, “My royal sister’s words are mistaken. Even after marriage, if a couple is incompatible, many separate and seek new partners. How much more so when they haven’t even completed the ceremony? We are not so inflexible as to sacrifice Mingyue’s happiness for the sake of the royal family’s face.”

Princess Rongyang nearly fell to her knees before Emperor Jingming.

Royal Brother, please be a little more inflexible! How can people live with you like this?

“Royal Sister, don’t be so stubborn. Listen to Our advice, children and grandchildren have their fortunes—”

“No!” Princess Rongyang resolutely interrupted Emperor Jingming, her tone agitated, “I’ll go to the Empress Dowager—”

A cold voice rang out, “Stop right there!”

Princess Rongyang’s steps faltered as she looked at Emperor Jingming.

The brother she remembered as gentle and kind now wore an expressionless face, his gaze icy as he looked at her.

Faced with the Emperor’s wrath, even the spoiled Princess Rongyang felt a chill run down her spine.

She was no longer the young girl from over a decade ago who had insisted on marrying the man she loved, causing a scene before the Empress Dowager and Emperor Jingming.

Emperor Jingming’s hand rested on a white jade paperweight, lightly caressing it as he spoke in a slightly cold tone, “Mother is advanced in years and needs more rest. My royal sister has always been sensible; surely you wouldn’t want to disturb her.”

Though Emperor Jingming spoke casually, Princess Rongyang heard the clear warning in his words.

She immediately abandoned the idea of going to complain and cry to the Empress Dowager.

The Great Zhou royal family had always had many daughters, and while she had many sisters, few were married in the capital. Among those in the capital, only she could enter the palace at will.

Why?

Ultimately, it was because she was the Empress Dowager’s adopted daughter, which was why her royal brother treated her differently.

And this special treatment hinged on the Empress Dowager.

With her royal brother speaking thus, if she still disregarded his words and went to cry to the Empress Dowager, in his eyes, it would be unfilial.

Her royal brother cared most about the Empress Dowager. If he thought she was unfilial, her favored status would be greatly affected.

Even in her youth, Princess Rongyang’s willfulness was rooted in her ability to leverage her superior status. When facing the Empress Dowager and Emperor Jingming, she knew when to restrain herself.

Born into the royal family, if one only knew how to be spoiled and unreasonable, they likely wouldn’t survive two years.

Seeing that Princess Rongyang was quite sensible, Emperor Jingming nodded in satisfaction, his gaze softening, “Since my royal sister also agrees with Our decision, let’s proceed as planned. Pan Hai, relay Our imperial decree…”

Pan Hai left to carry out the order.

Princess Rongyang left the palace like a wandering soul.

What had she come to the palace for?

Prince Xiang remained kneeling quietly.

Emperor Jingming walked over and kicked Prince Xiang’s backside, angrily saying, “Why are you still kneeling? Get back to your mansion!”

At this moment, there was still a group of people waiting to drink wedding wine at Prince Xiang’s mansion—this thought made Prince Xiang feel utterly despondent.

What had he done wrong to encounter such a nauseating situation?

Cui—Ming—Yue—

Prince Xiang gnashed his teeth as he silently called out this name, his hatred surging.

Swallowing this anger now didn’t mean the matter was settled.

Did they think marrying Zhu Ziyu would end it all?

This pair of adulterers had disgusted him so; he would make them pay!

“Hm?” Seeing Prince Xiang still kneeling stupidly, Emperor Jingming frowned.

Prince Xiang kowtowed, “Your son takes his leave.”

In the blink of an eye, only Emperor Jingming remained in the imperial study.

He flipped through a few pages of his novel, sighing deeply.

“It seems when the left eye twitches it’s fortune, when the right eye twitches it’s disaster!”

Emperor Jingming shoved the novel into a drawer and headed towards Cining Palace with his hands behind his back.

The Empress Dowager would find out about this matter sooner or later, but it was better to wait until it was a fait accompli before speaking of it.

He wasn’t going there to confess now, but to chat with the Empress Dowager.

With such a filial son as himself, the Empress Dowager shouldn’t care too much about others.

Prince Xiang rushed back to his mansion to find that most of the guests were indeed still waiting there.

Seeing that all his brothers were present, and even the Crown Prince hadn’t left, Prince Xiang was furious.

The others were one thing, but when the Seventh Brother got married, the Crown Prince had left early. What was he trying to do now?

Was his misfortune such a spectacle?

“Eighth Brother, what’s the matter?” The princes all asked with concerned expressions.

Joking aside, encountering such a spectacle, they were just worried about how to watch openly. Now that they had the chance, even a fool wouldn’t leave.

Perhaps today’s events had tempered him, for Prince Xiang only felt angry for a moment before calming down. He said flatly, “It’s nothing. This brother’s wedding to Miss Cui has been canceled.”

“Canceled?” The princes couldn’t help but reveal their surprise.

The Crown Prince rarely had the chance to educate his brothers, “Eighth Brother, your marriage was arranged by Father Emperor. No matter how angry you are, you can’t be willful!”

“There’s no help for it. This brother had his bride stolen away, so I had to go to the palace to seek Father Emperor’s judgment. As a result, Father Emperor canceled my marriage to Miss Cui and bestowed marriage upon Miss Cui and Zhu Ziyu instead…”

“Pfft—” Prince Lu spat out a mouthful of tea.